Final Fantasy Resonance doesn’t launch in full until next month, but modders are already using its new demo to reinstate the series’ most iconic diva. I’m talking about Ariana Grande, of course.
For those not in the know, Final Fantasy Resonance is an almost unrecognisable reconstruction of the now-shuttered mobile game Final Fantasy Brave Exvius. It’s not exactly a port or a remake, but it’s adding meat to the original game’s slim bones and using its story as a jumping off point.
And one of Final Fantasy Resonance’s most unique ideas comes from Visions, characters from across the series’ history who you can summon in battle. Cloud and Lightning and Cecil can all lend you a helping hand while in combat, but modders have now taken things a step further by adding every Brave Exvius fighter who didn’t make it onto Resonance’s roster.
The FFR Vision Studio mod brings almost 1,300 Brave Exvius units into the upcoming game’s demo. That means every guest character from the defunct mobile game can theoretically show up, Kingdom Hearts‘ Sora and Nier Automata’s 2B included.
Brave Exvius caught a lot of flack many years ago because, well, the game wasn’t exactly good. Seemingly nonsensical guest characters, like Ariana Grande and Katy Perry, also rubbed fans the wrong way, though the more gay and chronically online members of the fanbase (me) have since warmed up to how silly and sometimes camp those crossovers were.
Speaking to Kotaku, producer Keisuke Nakashima explained that “Ariana Grande’s character would not fit within the vibe that we’ve created for Final Fantasy Resonance.” It all depends on your perspective, Nakashima.
A recent blog post and an accompanying roadmap show that there’s still work left to be done on the mod. The modder in charge said they’re working on making the animations better and adding in a skill dictionary for the Brave Exvius abilities, and they might even develop side quests to dish out certain Visions.
